Speeding in the spotlight as officers target unsafe driving
Make sure your drivers are ready for Operation Safe Driver Week, which starts July 9, 2023.
The focus of this year’s unsafe-driving enforcement event will be the same as last year’s: speeding. Enforcement officers will be targeting unsafe driving behaviors of all kinds, however, including those by both commercial drivers and car drivers.
The program focuses on drivers because drivers’ actions are estimated to contribute to 94 percent of all traffic crashes. Speeding is a particular concern, as revealed by traffic enforcement data involving commercial motor vehicles, shown below.
Top 10 behavior-related traffic violations of 2022*
- Failure to obey traffic control device
- Speeding 6 to 10 mph over the limit
- Failure to wear seat belt
- Lane restriction violation
- Speeding 11 to 14 mph over the limit
- Speeding 1 to 5 mph over the limit
- Speeding 15 mph or more over the limit
- Using a hand-held telephone
- Failure to maintain lane
- Following too close
*Not including violations categorized as “other local laws” or “miscellaneous traffic laws.”
According to the U.S. DOT, there were 11,258 fatal crashes in the U.S. in 2020 where at least one driver was speeding, which is 29 percent of the total traffic fatalities for that year.
Click here for results from last year’s Operation Safe Driver Week! |
Prepare your drivers
Now that you know what officers will be looking for and the most common violations, take steps to reduce your exposure. Before Operation Safe Driver begins, refresh your drivers on:
- Obeying the speed limit at all times,
- Reading and obeying all traffic control signs and lights,
- Defensive driving,
- Compliance with traffic codes,
- Avoiding distracted driving, and
- Conducting a thorough pretrip inspection.
It goes without saying that drivers need to practice safe driving behaviors every day of the year.
Key to remember: Operation Safe Driver Week begins July 9, 2023, and runs through July 15, with a focus on speeding. Make sure your drivers are prepared.